A Technique for Preserving the Subarachnoid Space and its Contents in a Natural State with Different Colours

The subarachnoid space consists of a number of distinct compartments called subarachnoid cisterns. Knowledge of cisternal anatomy is very important not only for anatomists but also for clinicians, particularly neurosurgeons. This paper reports a technique which combines the traditional E12 sheet plastination method with several special treatments so that the subarachnoid space, transcisternal arteries and veins, cranial nerves and arachnoid trabeculae are preserved in a relatively natural state and shown with different colours. This technique should greatly facilitate cisternal anatomy studies and provide a new approach for examining structures in the subarachnoid space at both macroscopic and microscopic levels.